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Sunday, July 01, 2012

Happy Birthday, King!

The King Turns 75 Monday

You will have to find a cake large enough to
hold 75 candles if you want to celebrate the birthday of "King"
Richard Petty Monday. Petty, the seven-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion and
owner of 200 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins, including seven Daytona 500
victories, is celebrating his 75th birthday in the same town he was
born, Level Cross, N.C. Petty will spend time working at the current location
of Petty's Garage, before spending time with his family later in the day.

Later this week, Petty will fly to a familiar early
summer celebration spot -- Daytona Beach, Fla. – where he, his family and
friends will celebrate the Fourth of July and enjoy a dinner held in the honor
of his 75thbirthday. The event, dubbed “Red, White and Petty
Blue," will take place at the Wyndham Ocean Walk Resort and feature guest
speakers who have been a part of Petty's life. The evening will conclude with a
fireworks display and birthday cake made by the TLC hit show "Cake
Boss."

"I'm really thankful for everyone who has
supported us over the years," said Petty. "I really don't think about
age too much. I just keep going to the next race. I've been doing that all my
life and that's what I'm going to keep doing. But, I am grateful for each day
and all the fans who make this a lot of fun for us."

The NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee is one of the
most celebrated athletes in all of sports and his trademark cowboy hat,
sunglasses, belt buckle and cowboy boots have made him an American icon. His
accomplishments over 75 years read like a "Who's Who" of American
athletes. They include:

·Elected into three
motorsports Hall of Fames including inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame class (2010)

·Has appeared in or
voiced movies such as "CARS," "Swing Vote," "Days of
Thunder," "Stroker Ace" and others

·Has appeared in
television shows including Arli$$, Hee Haw, David Frost Show and others

·Donated more than 75
acres of his personal land to help build the Victory Junction Gang Camp

·Lent his name to the first
(and still most popular) stock car driving school, the Richard Petty Driving
Experience.

Petty continues to be a major figure in the sport and works with his
partners at both Richard Petty Motorsports and Petty's Garage daily. His
schedule keeps him as busy as he was when he ended his driving career in 1992.

His familiar smile and wave will be seen this weekend at Daytona
during the running of Coke Zero 400.

3 comments:

I'm a HUGE Petty fan - and have been since mid 70s. Genuinely wish him the best for his 75th BD.

But c'mon Dave, RPDE as the first stock car driving school? If he were still with us, I'm sure Buck Baker would take exception to that claim. Perhaps that notation was clipped from a press release - but still, I have to call foul on that one.